They are paid from the estate before anyone inherits. Debts do not generally pass to your family personally unless they co-signed or held the debt jointly.
The Canadian position
The executor pays creditors before beneficiaries. Publishing a notice to creditors protects the executor from claims arriving after distribution.
A co-signed loan or joint credit card remains the surviving borrower's responsibility.
The Islamic position
Settling debts is a serious obligation and takes priority over both the bequest and the fixed shares. Classical texts treat an undischarged debt as a matter of real weight for the deceased.
All four schools work through the estate in the same order: the cost of preparing and burying the body, then debts, then bequests up to one third, and only what is left is divided by the fixed shares. The disputes are not about the sequence but about two rankings inside it.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-08-19. Full positions, evidence and sources — The order of payment out of an estate.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
What to do about it
- List all debts including any unpaid mahr.
- Publish a notice to creditors.
- Pay debts before distributing anything.
- Keep records — the executor may need to prove the order of payment.
This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position. Anything under “further reading” is related material, not a source for what is stated here.
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 55: Wills and Testaments (Wasaya) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Wills — Sunnah.com
- Apply for probate of an estate — Government of Ontario
- Estate Administration Tax — Government of Ontario
- Estates Act, RSO 1990, c E.21 — Government of Ontario
- Canadian Legal Information Institute — CanLII
- Executor personally liable estate debts ontario — Treadstone Law
- Distributing estate beneficiaries ontario — Treadstone Law
- Who pays estate debts intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- Does a beneficiary have to pay estate debts ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law